Cricket News: Ireland are due to run into a couple of familiar faces next year after the fixtures for the 2008 Friends Provident Trophy were announced yesterday.
In a revamped format, Phil Simmons' side have been placed in the Midlands Section alongside Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Northants and Warwickshire, with matches staged on a home and away basis.
That could see the intriguing scenario of two of Ireland's World Cup heroes, Niall O'Brien and Boyd Rankin, coming face-to-face with their team-mates.
The pair, currently in India preparing for the Indian Cricket League, are on the books of Northants and Warwickshire respectively.
In a major boost the Sky Sports cameras will return to Castle Avenue in Clontarf for Ireland's opening clash against Nottinghamshire on Sunday, March 27th.
Irish captain Trent Johnston believes the players will welcome the added attention after the coverage they received during their memorable World Cup campaign earlier this year. "It's great for the guys, it's always nice to have exposure on TV and hopefully, it will raise our game," he said.
Johnston is also relishing Ireland's second game away to Leicestershire on May 4th, as it means a return to Grace Road, where he led his side to victory in the Intercontinental Cup earlier this year.
"We have great memories of Grace Road as we defended our title against Canada there. But Leicestershire are a tough side, even though they have lost Stuart Broad to Nottinghamshire."
Ireland failed to win a game in this year's competition, with a tired group of players struggling to keep up the levels they attained during the World Cup.
But Johnston believes they can cause a few upsets: "Our players have plenty of experience of the competition now and if we play to our ability we can match the county sides."
IRELAND'S FRIENDS PROVIDENT TROPHY FIXTURES: Apr 27th: v Nottinghamshire, Clontarf; May 4th: v Leicestershire, Grace Road; May 5th: v Northamptonshire, Northants; May 16th: v Warwickshire, Stormont; May 18th: v Leicestershire, Stormont; May 25th: v Warwickshire, Edgbaston; May 26th: v Nottinghamshire, Trent Bridge; May 28th: v Northants, Clontarf.
